A Woman’s Guide To Getting Lean

Getting Lean And Avoiding The ‘Bulky’ Look

You see some women in the gym who look relatively fit, but at the same time, may have more muscle than you desire.

How can you avoid that?

Let’s go over this concept so that you can fully understand.

How Muscle ‘Bulk’ Happens

The first thing to know is that when you see women with quite a bit of actual muscle size present, this has come about due to years and years of hard work as well as following a higher calorie diet.

As you’re currently aiming to lose fat, meaning you will be using a lower calorie diet plan, you simply won’t be providing the calorie resources to build more muscle size. So right now, you will not get any larger.

The Cost Of Getting Leaner

This said, you need to be sure you aren’t confusing muscle size/bulk with definition.

In some cases, when women get leaner, they start noticing their muscles are looking more defined, so much so that it can almost cause them to look bulkier.

It isn’t so much that their muscles are actually that much larger, but more that they are just more visible now.

So this can give that look that you don’t want to be seeing.

As you continue to diet further and further, you run the risk of this happening.

Depending on your target goal weight, you need to realise that if it is does require very low body fat percentages, this may be what you end up with.

In addition to this, many women tend to worry about losing bust size and ‘looking more like a man’.

But realise that here again, your chest is primarily made of fat tissue, so if you do start to see a reduction, it’s because you are losing fat, not because you are building muscle.

It’s impossible to get to very lean body fat levels and still maintain a full bust, so note that there is always going to be that tradeoff.

Finding Your Happy Spot

All in all, what you need to do is find your happy spot. Meaning, where do you feel like you look thin but still feminine?

Most women will maintain their feminine look when they sit around 16-20% body fat.

If you go lower than this, you will start to see more muscle definition and it will look like you’ve gained muscle size.

Where’s your sweet spot between lean and feminine?

Rest assured however, unless you’ve spent years working hard to build that muscle size first before dieting, you simply will not be ‘bulky’.

In addition to that, sitting at around 16-20% body fat is also a healthier place to be.

When you begin to get too low, issues such as ceased menstruation and increased chance of osteoporosis can begin to occur.

Adjusting Your Training

Finally, you may also want to consider adjusting your training program slightly as well.

Using a bit more metabolic conditioning principles rather than very heavy weight lifting will also help you keep your body looking more feminine and fit, rather than strong and muscular.

This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t challenge yourself with weights however.

Free weights are a very important part of any workout program. Make sure that you aren’t missing out on that.

Keep these tips in mind and make sure that you aren’t fearing muscle bulk too much – it really won’t happen unless you are specifically training for it.